13 Weeks Pregnant!!! ..... and Diabetic

It is official.... I'm a diabetic!!! i was diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes...boooooooo!!!  My OB wanted to test me early due to my family history, my PCOS, and my weight. My fluffy self was predisposed to it.  So it was confirmed a few days ago.  I will meet with a dietician/nutritionist once a week through out my pregnancy. It won't be soo bad, and it will be okay. I had a a laugh when my OB's nurse called me with my results. I was honestly shocked!!! I really wasn't expecting it.... I guess my body is doing a poor shop of processing my body's insulin.... Did i mentioned i was caught by surprised??

I was surprised because when I went to take my first test,which was the 1 hr glucose tolerance test. Now i had heard many of pregnant moms experiences and it didn't sound like fun.  You show up to your lab, let them know you are there for the test (something i didn't do and sat for 40 minutes waiting for them to call, while i could have had it started when i got there). They give you this orange cold drink. Now the taste wasn't THAT bad. i don't like orange drinks unless is orange juice...this was far from orange juice. It was like drinking some sort of orange flavored medicine... I had to finish it in 5 minutes and i did, it wasn't to bad...it was sweet, but not horribly bad.  So once it is finished the lab notes the time and i had to return in exactly one hour to draw my blood.  WEll i did go back in an hour, i got those results back and i had just BARELY failed. The normal cut-off range is 140, I came in at 143!! Since i failed i had to repeat the test but it would be a 3 hour test. this happened to my sister and she passed her 3 hour test, it also happened to another friend and she also passed her 3 hour test. Most pregnant moms who barely fail their 1-hr test go on to take and pass their 3 hour test. SO i assumed i would repeat THAT cycle.

Uh-uh! Didn't happen. I drank the drink and my blood was drawn and hour, then 2 hours, then 3 hours from the time i finished the Orange drink.  The purpose is to see how your body makes and processes your body's insulin.  If it doesn't process it properly due to pregnancy hormones blocking insulin, your body's glucose isn't made and processed enough to convert into energy.  Un treated, GD will affect my baby.  So since i failed my 3 hour test (2 of the 3 blood draws came back with levels elevated), i have to now watch even more what I eat. I was trying to be careful before to avoid putting on more weight than my Dr.s wanted me to put on.  It will be okay, i'm positive of it. I wasn't too upset getting the results, but getting some information from the Diabetes Center that I will be working with throughout my pregnancy. That is when it became real to me, i guess.

I got some forms i need to fill out before my first meeting with the dieticians, and they also provided me some information of what I should avoid, what is good and not good to eat or drink while having GD. I was shocked to find out I am to AVOID mild at breakfast! It is okay the rest of the day, just not breakfast...who knew?!?! I was a bit sad about that, since that is when i would drink my milk for the day! They also provided a 7 day sample menu and it really isn't that bad. i can still a lot of yummy foods, just smaller portions and eating more through out the day. This is where I find i have some issues. Being always on the fluffy side, I have always eaten less... but obviously it wasn't the right way, or the right portions, or even the right foods, since i have maintained my weight all these years, but not lost weight like i have tried.  So i have to eat 3 meals and 3 snacks throughout the day. It is small portions, but it still feels like a lot of food.  I just have to work on being okay with eating throughout the day.

Today is the first day that I'm following the new diet suggestions. Not bad, even if i did make myself eat an actual breakfast... No more breakfast on the run. My usual breakfast was either toast with peanut butter or an whole wheat english muffin with a little jelly and 1 or 2 cups of milk.  NOw i will get up earlier and fix my self an egg or two, eat it with some cooked veggies, very little cheese with some salsa, or in a breakfast burrito style on a whole wheat flour tortilla, or with whole wheat waffle w/ sugar free syrup, or with instant oatmeal ( i have never really cared for oatmeal... i guess i better try again) all very yummy options. I'm just not used to eating breakfast like this except weekends.... but that isn't until 9 or 10 am..... eating at 7 am, that will take some getting used to.

All in all, it is a good thing  in the long run. It will help improve my eating habits as well as my husband's.  He should take better care anyway, he has diabetes in his family too. Well, at least it could be worse.... I could have not found out yet and gone another 7 weeks possibly harming my baby.  Now i can give my baby a better chance at starting a healthy life inside the womb.  all in all, all is going well. I'm 13 weeks today and therefore have one more week before graduating to the 2nd trimester... and i will breath a huge sigh of relief. As soon as i learn how to post pictures, i will.